A FILM BY Andrea Dorfman

A FILM BY Andrea Dorfman

Dorfman’s direction is visually expressive and decorated with animation.

-Brad Wheeler, The Globe & Mail

Synopsis

Justine, paralyzed by stage fright, gave up a far fetched dream of becoming a singer songwriter and tucked her heart away, ignoring what it was desperately trying to tell her: that in order to live, it needs to beat. Now accustomed to avoiding what makes her heart beat, Justine is stuck. She lives in a mausoleum - the house she inherited from her grandmother; writes uninspired copy for a data management company and lies to her best friend, Lorna, about continuing to sleep with her ex, Ben. After Ben leaves town, putting an end to their late night trysts, Justine, depressed and unfulfilled, picks up her dusty guitar and finally faces the music - her music - and her heart begins to beat again. Heartbeat mixes Justine’s live-action story about facing her greatest fear with an animated fable about the joy of her beating heart.